Maurice Carroll, Assistant Director (203) 506-9199 Rubenstein Pat Smith (212) 843-8026 FOR RELEASE: MAY 3, 2017 MURPHY TOPS GUADAGNO, PISCOPO IN NEW JERSEY GOV RACE, QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY POLL FINDS; MOST VOTERS UNDECIDED IN JUNE 6 PRIMARIES Democrat Phil Murphy has hit the magic 50 percent mark in the 2017 New Jersey governor s race, leading Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno 50 25 percent in what is still a battle of the unknowns, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. In a three-way general election race, with comedian Joe Piscopo running as an independent candidate, Murphy gets 41 percent, with 21 percent for Guadagno and 14 percent for Piscopo, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. In the June 6 primary, 52 percent of Democratic voters remain undecided. Murphy gets 26 percent, with 7 percent for former U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Jim Johnson, 5 percent for Assembly member John Wisniewski, 4 percent for State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, 3 percent for activist Bill Brennan and 1 percent for Tenafly Councilman Mark Zinna. In a Republican primary, 51 percent of voters are undecided. Guadagno leads with 23 percent, followed by 12 percent for Assembly member Jack Ciattarelli, 5 percent for Nutley Commissioner Steve Rogers and 3 percent for entrepreneur Joseph Rullo. In the Murphy-Guadagno faceoff, women back the Democrat 53 20 percent and men back him 47 30 percent. With Piscopo in the race, women go 45 percent for Murphy, 18 percent for Guadagno and 11 percent for Piscopo. Men go 36 percent for Murphy, 24 percent for Guadagno and 18 percent for Piscopo. The news that they re supposed to elect a governor this year doesn't seem to have gotten through to a lot of New Jersey voters, said Maurice Carroll, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. Kim Guadagno has been lieutenant governor. Phil Murphy has spent a zillion dollars on campaign ads. Both have sewed up county organization support. -more-
Quinnipiac University Poll/May 3, 2017 But more than half of the voters don t know enough about either of them to give a favorable-or-unfavorable judgment, Carroll added. Even fewer people have an opinion of Joe Piscopo. Has the news gotten around that he s thinking of running? mark. In a general election matchup, Murphy trounces Guadagno, just hitting the 50 percent New Jersey voters know little about the candidates for governor, as 57 percent haven t heard enough about either Murphy or Guadagno to form an opinion of them. For Piscopo, 64 percent say they don t know enough to form an opinion. Taxes are the most important issue in deciding how they will vote for governor, 25 percent of New Jersey voters say, while 19 percent list the economy; 18 percent list education; 15 percent cite health care and 13 percent say ethics in government. President Trump s Approval Rating With a more than 2-1 disapproval from women, President Donald Trump gets a negative 35 56 percent job approval rating in the Garden State, compared to a negative 34 59 percent score in a March 15 Quinnipiac University poll. Today, women give Trump a negative 28 63 percent approval rating. The president has a negative 43 49 percent among men. Booker for President New Jersey voters approve 57 33 percent of the job U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is doing, but say 54 33 percent that he should not run for president in 2020. Booker s presidential possibility gets a lukewarm 54 30 percent endorsement from Democrats, with every other listed party, gender, education, age or racial group saying no. Voters give U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez a split 41 41 percent job approval rating. From April 26 May 1, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,209 New Jersey voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percentage points. The survey includes 519 Democrats with a margin of error of +/- 4.3 percentage points and 331 Republicans with a margin of error of +/- 5.4 percentage points. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado and the nation as a public service and for research. Visit poll.qu.edu or www.facebook.com/quinnipiacpoll Call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter @QuinnipiacPoll. 2
1. (If Registered Republican) If the Republican primary for governor were being held today, and the candidates were Kim Guadagno, Jack Ciattarelli, Joe Rullo, Steve Rogers, and Hirsh Singh, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED REPUBLICANS... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY CONSERVATIVE Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Lib Men Wom Guadagno 23% 24% 17% 30% 27% 19% Ciattarelli 12 13 17 9 12 13 Rullo 3 2 2 5 5 1 Rogers 5 6 11 1 6 5 Singh - - - - - - SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 1-1 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 4 4 1 6 5 4 DK/NA 51 50 51 47 44 58 2. (If Registered Democrat) If the Democratic primary for governor were being held today, and the candidates were Phil Murphy, John Wisniewski, Ray Lesniak, Bill Brennan, Jim Johnson, and Mark Zinna, for whom would you vote? REGISTERED DEMOCRATS... POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY LIBERAL... Mod/ Tot Very Smwht Cons Men Wom Murphy 26% 33% 27% 23% 27% 25% Wisniewski 5 10 5 4 6 5 Lesniak 4 6 2 3 4 3 Brennan 3 5 1 3 4 3 Johnson 7 4 7 7 8 5 Zinna 1 - - 1 2 - SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1 - - 3 3 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 4 1 1 2 1 DK/NA 52 37 56 55 43 57 3. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Phil Murphy the Democrat and Kim Guadagno the Republican, for whom would you vote? Murphy 50% 10% 83% 37% 47% 53% 49% 36% Guadagno 25 68 3 28 30 20 30 33 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1-1 1 1 1 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 2 2 5 3 3 2 4 DK/NA 21 19 12 29 19 23 17 26 Murphy 44% 55% 54% 48% 40% 47% 43% 62% Guadagno 21 22 27 31 37 27 31 14 SMONE ELSE(VOL) 1-1 1 1 1 1 - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 3 5 2 2 4 2 3 3 DK/NA 32 18 16 18 18 24 21 20 3
4. If the election for Governor were being held today, and the candidates were Phil Murphy the Democrat, Kim Guadagno the Republican, and Joe Piscopo running as an independent candidate, for whom would you vote? Murphy 41% 6% 72% 28% 36% 45% 43% 30% Guadagno 21 59 2 23 24 18 23 29 Piscopo 14 15 8 21 18 11 14 16 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - 1 - - - - - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 1 1 4 2 2 1 2 DK/NA 21 18 17 25 20 22 18 22 Murphy 33% 46% 45% 43% 33% 41% 37% 48% Guadagno 20 18 21 26 28 24 26 13 Piscopo 11 18 18 11 20 11 15 13 SMONE ELSE(VOL) - - 1 - - 1 - - WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 DK/NA 34 16 15 20 18 22 20 23 5. Is your opinion of Phil Murphy favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Favorable 28% 7% 43% 24% 30% 27% 30% 20% Unfavorable 12 24 4 14 15 9 13 12 Hvn't hrd enough 57 68 52 57 53 62 54 66 REFUSED 3 1 1 5 3 2 2 2 Favorable 26% 34% 30% 25% 29% 22% 26% 33% Unfavorable 13 12 10 7 16 9 13 10 Hvn't hrd enough 55 53 58 66 52 67 60 53 REFUSED 6 1 3 1 3 2 2 3 6. Is your opinion of Kim Guadagno favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about her? Favorable 18% 37% 4% 24% 23% 14% 22% 26% Unfavorable 23 9 35 18 24 22 34 16 Hvn't hrd enough 57 52 60 54 51 62 41 57 REFUSED 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 1 Favorable 15% 11% 22% 21% 30% 19% 24% 8% Unfavorable 12 29 27 23 26 26 26 17 Hvn't hrd enough 71 57 48 54 42 54 48 72 REFUSED 1 2 3 2 2 2 2 3 4
7. Is your opinion of Joe Piscopo favorable, unfavorable or haven't you heard enough about him? Favorable 19% 25% 13% 23% 23% 15% 20% 24% Unfavorable 15 17 18 10 16 14 20 13 Hvn't hrd enough 64 56 67 64 59 69 57 61 REFUSED 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 Favorable 12% 22% 25% 16% 26% 18% 22% 14% Unfavorable 7 15 19 16 16 18 17 11 Hvn't hrd enough 81 63 53 66 55 63 59 73 REFUSED 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 1 8. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as President? Approve 35% 86% 5% 41% 43% 28% 35% 52% Disapprove 56 7 89 48 49 63 57 40 DK/NA 9 7 6 11 8 9 7 8 Approve 36% 27% 34% 42% 53% 34% 43% 20% Disapprove 49 64 60 51 42 56 50 70 DK/NA 16 8 6 7 5 10 8 11 10. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the state legislature is handling its job? Approve 21% 22% 25% 17% 22% 20% 21% 21% Disapprove 60 59 55 64 63 57 62 57 DK/NA 19 19 20 20 15 23 17 22 Approve 23% 18% 21% 22% 22% 21% 21% 20% Disapprove 49 71 61 59 65 55 60 61 DK/NA 28 11 18 19 14 24 19 19 5
11. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Cory Booker is handling his job as United States Senator? Approve 57% 23% 85% 45% 53% 61% 58% 45% Disapprove 33 64 8 41 39 27 35 43 DK/NA 10 13 7 14 8 12 6 12 Approve 50% 61% 60% 56% 47% 57% 52% 66% Disapprove 34 30 32 34 45 33 39 21 DK/NA 16 10 8 10 8 10 9 12 12. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Menendez is handling his job as United States Senator? Approve 41% 20% 59% 35% 40% 43% 41% 34% Disapprove 41 66 24 45 48 34 44 48 DK/NA 18 14 17 19 13 23 14 19 Approve 30% 43% 47% 47% 36% 40% 38% 49% Disapprove 36 40 43 40 54 39 46 31 DK/NA 34 18 10 13 11 21 16 20 14. Would you like to see the Democrats or the Republicans control the New Jersey state legislature? Democrats 51% 4% 91% 38% 46% 57% 47% 36% Republicans 32 88 3 35 38 27 40 47 DK/NA 16 8 7 27 16 17 13 16 Democrats 48% 57% 56% 46% 36% 48% 42% 69% Republicans 31 30 31 37 51 35 43 13 DK/NA 21 13 14 17 13 16 15 18 6
15. Which of these is the most important issue to you in deciding how to vote for governor this year: taxes, the economy, education, the budget, health care, or ethics in government? Taxes 25% 44% 12% 29% 27% 22% 27% 34% Economy 19 18 16 23 22 16 18 14 Education 18 5 26 16 17 19 14 12 Budget 7 10 6 5 8 5 10 6 Health care 15 9 23 10 9 21 13 15 Ethics in government 13 12 13 14 13 13 14 16 SOMETHING ELSE(VOL) 2-2 1 2 1 2 2 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 Taxes 15% 20% 28% 31% 33% 28% 30% 14% Economy 25 17 21 16 17 15 16 26 Education 30 34 7 9 12 14 13 29 Budget 3 4 8 10 11 6 8 3 Health care 13 11 18 16 9 18 14 17 Ethics in government 12 11 15 15 14 16 15 10 SOMETHING ELSE(VOL) 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 1 DK/NA - 1 1 3 1 2 2 1 16. Do you think Cory Booker should run for President in 2020 or not? Yes/Should 33% 7% 54% 25% 26% 40% 34% 24% No 54 81 30 65 62 45 54 63 DK/NA 13 12 16 11 12 15 12 13 Yes/Should 36% 38% 34% 27% 23% 36% 29% 41% No 44 55 54 58 67 51 58 44 DK/NA 20 6 11 15 11 14 12 14 7